To our readers: The Tuscaloosa News to launch digital subscriptions

The Tuscaloosa News will move to a new digital business model on Monday.

File | Tuscaloosa News

By Jim RaineyPublisher

Published: Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 5:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 5:00 p.m.

Change is coming to the way you access news and information through the digital offerings of The Tuscaloosa News.

Beginning Monday, The Tuscaloosa News will move to a new digital business model. If you're already a subscriber to the newspaper, your subscription will automatically be upgraded. You'll be asked to sign in once and will immediately gain unlimited access to the paper's primary website, at home and work. The same is true even if you only subscribe on the weekends.

You also will be given access to a more robust digital offering, which will include our new E-edition, an electronic replica of the daily newspaper, and our mobile platforms.

If you're not a subscriber, you'll still be able to view five articles every 30 days. After that, you'll be asked to subscribe online. Once you sign up, you'll be given unlimited access to the website and our mobile apps. And if you live in our delivery area, you'll be given the option of receiving weekend delivery of the printed paper at no additional charge.

For more than a century, The Tuscaloosa News has been a valued and respected source of news and information about our community. In 1957, Buford Boone was recognized with journalism's highest honor, the Pulitzer Prize. Boone was honored for editorials that recognized the world was changing and it was best to embrace change rather than try to thwart it.

Of course, today, we're much more than solely a printed newspaper and the world continues to change. Technology is rapidly changing the way we interact and do business. This evolution is nowhere more apparent than in the newspaper business. The Tuscaloosa News has made significant strides and investments to keep pace with the changing landscape, while remaining unwaveringly committed to its mission of service to the community. In 2012, The Tuscaloosa News earned its second Pulitzer Prize, for breaking news reporting, largely because of its use of digital media in covering the tragic tornadoes of April 27, 2011, and the aftermath.

An even greater testament to the paper's success and innovation is that you, our readers, have made our locally produced websites the most visited and trusted in Tuscaloosa. The paper's primary website, www.tuscaloosanews.com, receives more than 3 million page views and attracts more than 400,000 unique visitors each month.

We intend to serve our readers every day -- in print and online -- with award-winning journalism that is part of the fabric of the community. We will continue to innovate, expand our offerings and deliver the news seven days a week any way you want it — to your driveway and to your desktop, laptop, smartphone and tablet. Chances are we will soon have to figure out how to do it on a platform that has not yet been invented.

The news and information we provide will be continuously updated with breaking news and money-saving information. But to continue that process and produce the quality of content that our readers deserve, demand and expect, we simply cannot continue to give it away to the fastest-growing segment of our customers.

This new digital business model is not unique to The Tuscaloosa News. In the past two years, more than 400 daily newspapers across the country have moved to digital subscription models or announced plans to make the move.

The new digital subscription model will help us expand and improve the products we provide our community. It won't cost current subscribers anything more than what they're already paying. It will cost current non-subscribers only about 42 cents per day. That's still less than the cost of a single copy of the day's paper if you buy it out of the rack or at a store. When you think about it, there isn't much you can purchase these days for just 42 cents — not even a postage stamp. A single soft drink or cup of coffee costs about twice as much. But that's all it will cost to get the full complement of local news, entertainment and sports delivered in a variety of forms. And it will be available each and every day, made fresh around the clock; your news any way you want it delivered.

In the coming days, you will see articles and advertisements in the newspaper and online that describe the coming changes and options available to you in greater detail.

<p>Change is coming to the way you access news and information through the digital offerings of The Tuscaloosa News.</p><p>Beginning Monday, The Tuscaloosa News will move to a new digital business model. If you're already a subscriber to the newspaper, your subscription will automatically be upgraded. You'll be asked to sign in once and will immediately gain unlimited access to the paper's primary website, at home and work. The same is true even if you only subscribe on the weekends.</p><p>You also will be given access to a more robust digital offering, which will include our new E-edition, an electronic replica of the daily newspaper, and our mobile platforms.</p><p>If you're not a subscriber, you'll still be able to view five articles every 30 days. After that, you'll be asked to subscribe online. Once you sign up, you'll be given unlimited access to the website and our mobile apps. And if you live in our delivery area, you'll be given the option of receiving weekend delivery of the printed paper at no additional charge.</p><p>For more than a century, The Tuscaloosa News has been a valued and respected source of news and information about our community. In 1957, Buford Boone was recognized with journalism's highest honor, the Pulitzer Prize. Boone was honored for editorials that recognized the world was changing and it was best to embrace change rather than try to thwart it.</p><p>Of course, today, we're much more than solely a printed newspaper and the world continues to change. Technology is rapidly changing the way we interact and do business. This evolution is nowhere more apparent than in the newspaper business. The Tuscaloosa News has made significant strides and investments to keep pace with the changing landscape, while remaining unwaveringly committed to its mission of service to the community. In 2012, The Tuscaloosa News earned its second Pulitzer Prize, for breaking news reporting, largely because of its use of digital media in covering the tragic tornadoes of April 27, 2011, and the aftermath.</p><p>An even greater testament to the paper's success and innovation is that you, our readers, have made our locally produced websites the most visited and trusted in Tuscaloosa. The paper's primary website, www.tuscaloosanews.com, receives more than 3 million page views and attracts more than 400,000 unique visitors each month.</p><p>We intend to serve our readers every day -- in print and online -- with award-winning journalism that is part of the fabric of the community. We will continue to innovate, expand our offerings and deliver the news seven days a week any way you want it — to your driveway and to your desktop, laptop, smartphone and tablet. Chances are we will soon have to figure out how to do it on a platform that has not yet been invented.</p><p>The news and information we provide will be continuously updated with breaking news and money-saving information. But to continue that process and produce the quality of content that our readers deserve, demand and expect, we simply cannot continue to give it away to the fastest-growing segment of our customers. </p><p>This new digital business model is not unique to The Tuscaloosa News. In the past two years, more than 400 daily newspapers across the country have moved to digital subscription models or announced plans to make the move. </p><p>The new digital subscription model will help us expand and improve the products we provide our community. It won't cost current subscribers anything more than what they're already paying. It will cost current non-subscribers only about 42 cents per day. That's still less than the cost of a single copy of the day's paper if you buy it out of the rack or at a store. When you think about it, there isn't much you can purchase these days for just 42 cents — not even a postage stamp. A single soft drink or cup of coffee costs about twice as much. But that's all it will cost to get the full complement of local news, entertainment and sports delivered in a variety of forms. And it will be available each and every day, made fresh around the clock; your news any way you want it delivered.</p><p>In the coming days, you will see articles and advertisements in the newspaper and online that describe the coming changes and options available to you in greater detail.</p><p>Jim Rainey is publisher of The Tuscaloosa News.</p>